


A Hat in Time - Of Cats and Nightmares

by Krekka01



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Cynical advice, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 21:30:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19159354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krekka01/pseuds/Krekka01
Summary: Hat Kid's been having terrible nightmares ever since being forced to join the Empress' Nyakuza gang, and the Snatcher (through great reluctance and contractual obligations) has to help her get through her issues.





	A Hat in Time - Of Cats and Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing fanfic for this site. I own nothing about these character. They belong to "Gears for Breakfast".

_The frantic footsteps of Hat Kid echoed throughout the blackened void around her, following her every move. She never ran this fast before; her legs were starting to ache, but she had to keep running. She didn't know where she was heading to – every direction was a black emptiness – but she knew she was running from something... someone. Any moment of pause could be her last._

_How could she have let this happen? How could she have been so stupid? She saw the warning signs. It has happened before. She should have known better than to hope it would turn out any other way, yet it happened all the same, and now she was running for her very life._

_Hat Kid glanced over her shoulder, trying to see whatever was chasing her, but only found more black void surrounding her. She knew the being must be hiding somewhere out there. Hiding. Stalking. She had to keep a watchful eye, less she fall victim to---_

_**THUD!**_

_The girl crashed into something she was not paying attention to, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto the cold floor. Hat Kid winced, trying to get back up, though her aching legs made things difficult. The girl looked up to whatever had blocked her way, and her blood ran cold in an instant. Standing before the child stood a tall, thin feline, covered in scars and jewellery, a smug look on her face, and with narrowed eyes that would pierce into the child's soul._

_The **Empress** had finally caught her._

_Hat Kid tried to make a sound – any sound – but found her breath had gotten itself stuck in her throat. She tried to back away from the mob boss, but found her arms and legs had become little more than jelly. The longer she gazed up to the Empress, the faster and louder her heart started to pound in her ears. She knew this was the end; there was no running from this... running from **her**. And yet... the Empress just stood there, looking down at Hat Kid as though she was looking at her dinner._

_The cat leader, still keeping a keen eye on the girl, merely raised her hand in the air, and pressed her clawed fingers together._

_**SNAP!**_

_In an instant, hundreds of thousands of yellow eyes flickered into existence from the void around the two. Out of the darkness, Hat Kid could make out familiar shapes of the Empress' Nyakuza cats closing in on her. She was completely surrounded, she knew. Forcing herself back up, Hat Kid drew out her weapon, brandishing it towards her assailants. This would be her last stand; she wasn't going to go down without a fight._

_Hat Kid could feel the wind across her face as groups of Nyakuza cats whizzed past her. She was way out of her element, being unable to see where the cats were coming from or where they were going. So she opted to just swing her weapon wildly from side-to-side, hoping to hit something that got too close. Though she did feel her weapon connect with one or two of the cats with her swings, the majority of them dodged and weaved around the girl's frantic attack like it was second nature to them._

_All this swinging was not helping Hat Kid in the least, only tiring herself out, and there were still thousands of cats around her. This wasn't a fight; it was a cruel game of cat and mouse, and she was the mouse. She could not keep this up forever. Sooner or later, the cats would find an opening for an attack, and she would be helpless to stop it. Hat Kid had to take a moment to catch her breath... the cats wouldn't let her._

_**WHACK!**_

_Hat Kid felt something hard and wooden hit her across the back of the head, an eruption of pain catching her by surprise. The girl fell to the floor with a thud, her hat flying off from the top of her head. Dazed and confused, the hatless child tried to reach for her hat, but soon found powerful hands had grabbed both of her wrists, stopping her attempt to retrieve her hat. Hat Kid struggled against her captors, but the cats easily spread her arms out wide, forcing her chest out forward and exposed. She also felt a wooden bat press up against her throat from a cat from behind._

_She was caught... well and truly caught._

_Hat Kid looked from side to side to see if there was any kind of chance of escape, but only found the Nyakuza cats closing in on her, their faces hidden away by those smug cat masks. What were the cats waiting for? They had the perfect opportunity to end her right here and now. The answer came in the form of the Empress standing before the little girl, looking down on her. The feline boss squatted down before Hat Kid, and started to reach into her coat, pulling out a shining Time Piece, holding the hourglass before the child, taunting her._

_“You have done an excellent job collecting these for me,” the Empress purred. “Without your help, my cats and I would never have been able to retrieve **my** Time Pieces.” Hat Kid opened her mouth to protest, but then felt the bat press harder against her throat, silencing her._

_“Unfortunately,” the feline continued, standing back up and putting the Time Piece away, “since I now have all the Time Pieces I need, and I can't have you jeopardizing **my** operations, well... I don't need you anymore.” All Hat Kid could do was to sneer defiantly at the Empress, as the cat underlings started to laugh at her misfortune._

_“That's right!” a new and familiar voice rang out. Hat Kid looked around in confusion on where the voice came from. Out from behind the Empress walked a little girl no bigger than she was, wearing a red-hood and sporting a small mustache. Hat Kid could only mouth Mustache Girl's name in shock._

_“We could have taken down the Mafia together!” Mustache Girl started, pointing at Hat Kid accusingly. “We could have been the best of friends, but you chose to hog all the Time Pieces for **yourself**! I'm going to collect them for myself, and I don't need you anymore.” The red-hooded girl's words began to cut deep into Hat Kid. Did she really think so little of her? Could things have turned out differently if Hat Kid had agreed to join Mustache Girl's crusade? Her thoughts were interrupted as two new figures emerged from behind the Empress – two figures she knew as the movie directors she helped out: the Conductor and DJ Grooves._

_“Guys!” Hat Kid cried out, struggling against her cat captors. “Help me out here! We can-”_

_“ **Don't** yer talk to me!” the owl(?) director interrupted. “Because of yer, yer cost me **my** movie award. Yer made me look like a fool, especially to DJ **Peck Neck** over here! I don't need yer anymore, lass!”_

_“You may have helped me win my movie award, dahlin',” the penguin director spoke up, “but you won't even share your Time Piece when I need it most, even after everything I did for you! Just a single one would help me win all the awards I was **cheated** out of, but you're being **selfish**! And for that, I don't need you anymore.” Tears were now starting to fall down Hat Kid's face. It was like reliving the worst moments of her time on this planet. Things couldn't possibly get any worse than this, Hat Kid thought. The sudden appearance of the ghostly Snatcher, her “ **BFF** ”, proved her wrong._

_“ **First you show up in my home,** ” the Snatcher listed, “ **assault me, change the terms on our contract, refuse to leave, and now won't even have the good graces to just die?! You really are just the worst, kid. I should have just killed you the moment you stepped into my forest. I don't need you anymore.** ” The Snatcher leaned in toward the crying Hat Kid. “ **WE don't need you anymore.** ” The other “friends” of Hat Kid soon joined in, chanting that haunted phrase:_

_“ **We don't need you anymore. We don't need you anymore. We don't need you anymore.** ”_

_This was all too much for the little girl, who was now a sobbing mess. How could they treat her like this? She knew they weren't always on the friendliest of terms, but she thought they had gotten past that. She thought they were her friends, but the pure hate in their eyes and faces as they chanted told her otherwise. The Nyakuza cats surrounding her took great joy in her suffering, snickering and laughing all the while._

_Hat Kid finally looked up, and through her tears, she saw the Empress and the others looming over her, their deafening chanting continuing. The feline herself had a particularly fiendish, toothy grin on her face, as she pulled her clawed arm to the sky, ready to strike. Hat Kid's eyes widened for a moment, before she slammed them shut, bracing for impact. Was this the end? Would this be the moment she would truly die? To die surrounded by those who hated her? Finally, the Empress brought her claws down on the little girl._

_**SLASH!**_

 

...

 

“ **AAHHH!!** ” Hat Kid cried out, nearly jumping from her bed. The girl panted furiously, checking her body to see if any claw marks had shown up. All she found was her forehead and parts of her pajamas were drenched in cold sweat. Slowly composing herself, Hat Kid scanned the room around her. She was inside of her bed... in her bedroom... in her spaceship. She was safe and sound. The girl let out a soft sigh of relief, though it brought her little comfort.

It was just a nightmare, Hat Kid thought. Another dumb, terrible nightmare. She was too old to be having these bad dreams! She was above this, dang it! Why now of all times?

Hat Kid made a second scan of her room, just to make sure nothing was off. Sure enough, everything was right in place: her toys, plushies, pillow fort, and even the Snatcher was where he should be. Everything was pitch dark, save for the Snatcher's candles illuminating his corner of the room. The ghostly spectre was engrossed in a book he was reading, but the screams of Hat Kid had drawn his attention.

“ **What's the matter, kid?** ” the Snatcher asked, peering over his book. “ **You had a bad dream?** ” Hat Kid nodded solemnly. Truth be told, she was having the same nightmare over the past few nights. She started getting them ever since she came under the employment of the Empress and her Nyakuza, except that each dream would be far worse than the last. Hat Kid opened her mouth to tell the Snatcher about her dream, but he immediately cut her off.

“ **Well don't talk to me about it.** ” the ghost interrupted, returning to his book. “ **I'm too busy catching up on some late-night reading.** ” Hat Kid frowned at the Snatcher's refusal to hear her out. _Of course_ he wouldn't be interested in what she had to say, she thought. The Snatcher made it no secret that he was not fond of being forced to being her “BFF”, and he made it known with his reluctance to take part in activities she liked, and his _Death Wish_ contracts he would make her do.

Feeling more miserable than before, Hat Kid laid back down on her bed, in the vain attempt of getting back to sleep. Her mind was still reeling from the images she witnessed in her nightmare. After a minute of trying (and failing) to fall back asleep, the little girl heard a deep sighing noise come from the Snatcher, and then found the ghost at her bedside.

“ **Alright,** ” the Snatcher asked with resignation, “ **what's on your** _ **so-called**_ **mind?** ” Hat Kid sat back up, but kept quiet for a moment, avoiding his gaze. Was he _really_ concerned for her well-being, or was this just a contractual obligation on his part?

“Snatcher,” Hat Kid finally spoke up, meeting her eyes to his, “am I a bad person?”

“ **Is that a trick question?** ” the Snatcher questioned, taken aback by such an odd question.

“It's like” -the hatted child took a moment to think of the words to say- “ever since I came to this place, the people I met were either very friendly and nice, kinda weird, or just plain rude. And I was fine with that. I made a bunch of friends along the way.

“But...” she continued, “as soon as a Time Piece got involved, my _friends_ suddenly turned into the biggest jerks on the planet, and they tried to kill me! It made me wonder... are people on this planet just naturally mean and nasty, or do I bring out the worst in them?”

“ **I mean...** ” the Snatcher responded, a wry smile crossing his face, “ **I** _ **could**_ **answer your question, but I don't think you'll like the response.** ” Hat Kid merely looked at the specter for a moment before bursting into tears. A sudden pang of guilt struck the Snatcher as his “BFF” tucked herself into her knees, sobbing. He didn't like seeing her being _this_ kind of upset. “ **Okay okay. I was only kidding.** ”

Hat Kid continued to cry into her lap. How could the Snatcher be so mean?! She sometimes wondered why the two were still “BFF's”, if not to ensure he didn't try to take her soul again. She felt a nudge at her shoulder. Looking up, the Snatcher had produced a box of tissue paper for her, and the expression on his face was genuine (or at least trying to be). Smiling softly, Hat Kid took a tissue paper, wiping away her tears and blowing her nose.

“ **Does this have anything to do with that cat gang you joined?** ” the Snatcher asked.

“Y-yes,” Hat Kid answered. “Ever since that cat lady made me join her gang, I had to deliver _my_ Time Pieces to her. At least she didn't quite rub it into my face, and she seemed quite nice to me, giving me this _money_ for the jobs. But at the same time, I always had this nagging feeling in the back of my head that, sooner or later, just like everyone else, she and her gang wouldn't need me anymore and double-cross me.” Hat Kid paused for a moment, “It had gotten so bad, I started getting nightmares of her turning on me.”

“ **Whew whew whew... hold up!** ” the Snatcher called for a pause. “ **You're telling me you're more afraid of being betrayed than being straight-up killed?** ”

“Well... yeah.” Hat Kid answered as if it was obvious. “I mean... you of all people should understand, what with you and Vanes-” Hat Kid quickly covered her mouth in horror of what she said, hoping to take it back, but it was too late. Looking at the Snatcher, his normally fanged grin shifted into a toothy scowl, his “hair” flared up, the yellow glow of his eyes and mouth turned into a deep, bloody red, and a low growl escaped from deep in his core. Hat Kid had never seen the Snatcher like this before, this enraged, and immediately wished she never had seen him like this. Would he attack, going against their contract? The girl shivered in terror at the sight of the specter in front of her.

The Snatcher's expression softened, returning to his old expression after witnessing the kid shake with fear.

“ **I** _ **suppose**_ **you have a point, kid.** ” the Snatcher conceded with a sigh. “ **Let me give you some advice – the same advice I was given when I first started law school.** ” The Snatcher had the girl's attention. “ **If you want something done, just do it.** ”

“Just... do it?” Hat Kid repeated quizzically, tilting her head in confusion.

“ **That's right.** ” the Snatcher explained. “ **If you want something done, you have to disregard your feelings on the matter. You can't worry yourself with morals, consequences, damages, or if you hurt someone's feelings. You need to do what you feel is right for you. If you mire yourself with doubt about who might get hurt, then you'll lose your opportunity to get what you want done.** ”

“You mean...” Hat Kid wondered, “I should double-cross the Empress?” The girl started to weigh her options, but shook her head. “I don't know. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable betraying someone like that. What if she catches me? What if she gets mad at me? What if---”

“ **Ah bap bap bap bap!** ” the Snatcher interrupted. “ **There's that doubt I was talking about. It's unhealthy. You shouldn't worry about the what-ifs.** ” The Snatcher pondered a thought for a moment, then beamed with a smile. “ **Let me put it in a way you'll understand. You're trying to recollect your Time Pieces for your ship, right?** ”

“Yes...?” Hat Kid answered, unsure where the Snatcher was going with this.

“ **But you're being made to hand them over to this cat lady, right?** ”

“Yes...”

“ **And you think she's gonna double-cross you sooner or later, right?** ”

“Yes..." Hat Kid sighed. "I see your point.”

“ **Then it should be obvious!** ” The Snatcher threw his hands in exasperation, seemingly convinced he had won over Hat Kid, though the look on her face told him that she wasn't totally convinced yet. The Snatcher merely chuckled at this. “ **I know, I know. It's very cynical advice. I didn't believe it when I first heard it, but-** ”

“No no,” Hat Kid interrupted. “I think for this situation, it's good advice. You're right, Snatcher. I need to betray the Empress before she betrays me!”

“ **That's the spirit!** ” the Snatcher exclaimed proudly, giving the girl a playful nudge on the shoulder. “ **I knew you'd see things my way! You just need to find a window of opportunity to turn on that cat lady before she even has the chance to fight back.** ”

“I will.” Hat Kid paused for a moment, reflecting on everything that transpired this night before returning her gaze to the Snatcher. “Thank you.”

“ **Anytime, kid.** ” The Snatcher nodded, starting to float away from the bed. “ **Now get some shut-eye.** ” He made it half way to his corner of the room when Hat Kid called to him again.

“Snatcher?” she asked softly. “Do you still need me?” The ghost looked at her sympathetically.

“ **Kid, I need you... to go back to sleep,** ” the ghost answered, curling back into his book. “ **You're messing up my reading schedule.** ” Hat Kid merely retorted with a huff, laying back into her bed. And as she started to drift into sleep, a soft smile crept on her face, knowing that the Snatcher, while grumpy and rude at times, may truly have Hat Kid's best interests at heart.

And she would have no more nightmares this night.


End file.
